Queer

1. It Gets Better - Purplehousemaker1 [5.50]

Description

Lesbian: Two teachers who live in a community where they would lose their jobs if they were out, hide their faces as they give a message to queer students. They say that they are frustrated with the fact that they can't openly help their queer students, and that they hope students in that position will seek out help on their own.

Gay: We liked this video for not only the message, but the sheer braveness that these women showed by posting this video. They showed, perfectly, that no matter how great the consequences are, you should always stand up for what you believe in. They made a point by saying even though they couldn't wear a rainbow flag, they are showing support. This is good because not everyone has to be clearly showing they are supporters in order to be an ally. Rainbow flags are not necessary to show you are an ally or supporter.

Queer:This video was remarkably powerful, but also very sad. It is abundantly clear that these women support their students and are amazing mentors and allies for their children, but they have to live in fear of having people find out who they are, and that struggle is absolutely terrible. Everyone needs to see this. It is totally understandable that they remained anonymous because it was not because they were ashamed of their identity; they needed their jobs. It also inspires students to find a teacher they trust, and it shows that they support them even though they themselves can't be out.

Ally:The video was about Kenyon Colleges queer group talking about their personal experiences when they got out of high school and came to college. Their video had a lot of different gender identities under a queer group.

Lesbian:Jake Shears, a queer singer in a rock band, talks about how he takes the anger he still has when he thinks about his horrible time in high school, and uses it to motivate him to live his life openly and proudly today.

Gay:While the video was for the most part, surrounding his year of bullying, negative, the silver lining message was very strong. This would be a good video for many kids to relate to. We also like how he used queer to encompass all L.G.B.T.

Queer:The first portion where he told his coming out story was memorable, but otherwise the video seemed to drag on and he seemed to lose his message a little bit because he was being really redundant. He had good intentions but the video fell short.

Queer: We related to the video because he talks about many important points: when one discusses queer issues, they need to discuss gender, class, race, and other things. It also echoed the position many queer people have in the LGB community because it is difficult to get things done in a community where only a small group within that community is represented or listened to.

Lesbian:The way he told the story was not very capturing, but the story itself was interesting because it shows how the queer community came together to make itself better.

Ally:We liked how she stood up for herself when she felt as though she was being disrespected by someone who asked a rude question about her lifestyle. We also liked how she explained her own definition of queer, even though it was sort of confusing.

Lesbian:I did not connect to the speaker, but could relate to her stories about people being confused when she describes her orientation. The video explains differences between pan-, bi-, and queer sexuality in an interesting way.

Ally:The video was about two queer guys talking about how their lives got better after school. One talked about how he changed his religion to be comfortable but the other just needed others to say its okay.

Gay:We liked that they guy mentioned changing religion. A lot of L.G.B.T.Q. youth have a fear coming out or being open about their sexuality because they fear their religion or what people might say. This shows that changing your religion is an option. They made a good point that it getting better varies by location.

Lesbian:I liked the story about changing religion, because it reinforces the idea that you can't change who you are, but you can change your surroundings (once you are old enough and have that freedom). Otherwise, the video was very short and vague.

Bisexual:This video took a different approach of helping a gay that was lost within his own community, as trying to help bring people to it.

Lesbian:I didn't like how it reinforced the stereotype that gay men are promiscuous, and didn't think the man's story is a good representation of the LGBTQ community. The story did show the political side of being LGBTQ, which is important.

Queer:We feel that while this video is good and that it sends a positive message, the negative reaction of the rest of the group is a good indicator that many people are unable to move past appearances and things or ways of life that are different from their own, so it might not fare well in the kit.

Lesbian:I liked how it was very clear that all the people in the video where not hiding any part of who they are. The video reinforced the idea that everyone is their own person, and should live their lives 1 to themselves, no matter how different from the norm that may be.